A day in tunnels

It is impossible to walk the Shikoku Pilgrimage without walking through a variety of tunnels.

I haven't sat down and calculated how many kilometers of tunnel you walk through, but it must be at least 20k and more probably double that, and in walking that is more than a day of distance.

It is possible to avoid some tunnels by taking a path up and over the mountain, but if you are carrying 20 kilos and/or the weather is bad then the tunnels makes sense....

Some of the tunnels are new, well lit, and with a decent sidewalk.

Some are old, dark, and narrow with just a painbted line separating you from the roaring traffic.

There are also quite a few traffic-free tunnels for pedestrians and cyclists.

Kanzui Matsuri 6

So, it's about one-thirty in the morning and the sixth dance of the matsuri begins, Daikoku and Ebisu.

There is not really a story, rather the two characters, both members of the 7 Lucky Gods of Japan, engage in pantomime.

Daikoku was originally a Hindu warrior deity, but in Japan by the 15th century he had become the jolly, pudgy character associated with wealth and good fortune. Hitting the people on the head with his magic mallet will bring them good fortune.

When Ebisu dances he often goes through the comedic routine of catching a Sea Bream.

Daikoku and Ebisu are often seen as a father-son pair through the association with Okuninushi (written with the same kanji as daikoku) and Kotoshironushi, seen as Ebisu.

What the kids in the audience have been waiting for is for the lucky candy that Ebisu throws out.....

Jinpukaku Tottori

Jinpukaku is a European-style mansion originally planned as a villa for the Ikeda family, the former Lords of Tottori. It was built in the first decade of the twentieth Century.

There is a nice Japanese-style garden to the rear. The mansion is located at the base of the ruins of Tottori Castle.

It was the first building in Tottori to get electric lights.

Crown Prince Yoshihito, later to become the Taisho Emperor, stayed here on his tour of the San-in region in 1907

The house has a small collection of items relating to the Ikeda Clan, and the rooms are elegantly furnished, but the main attraction is the spiral staircase.

There seems to be a much more continental feel to this building than with many other "Western" buildings built in te late 18th and early 20th centuries, like the Mansion for Foreign Engineers in Kagoshima.

Kijo. Demon Woman Mask

There are several kagura dances that have women who become demons, and the Kijo mask is one used in the transformation.

Momijigari (shown above), Kifune, and Kurozuka, are three such dances that feature variations on the mask.

There should be a few more weeks of wintery weather so I should be able to get soem more masks finished :)

A Second Suwa Shrine in Itano Town

Only about 3k from another Suwa Shrine, this second one in Itano Town, Tokushima, has a huge camphor tree at the entrance.

Believed to be around 700 years old, this venerable kusonoki grows to more than 35 meters in height.

The enshrined kami at Suwa shrines are Takeminakata, the son of Okuninushi who refused to hand over Izumo to the Yamato, and his wife Yasakatome. By the Heian Period the kami was called by the name of Suwa Myojin, the "bright shining deity of Suwa.

The cult of Suwa Myojin spread far and wide due to its association with, among other things, wind, hunting, and battle, though its spread is most likely due to the samurai who worshipped it as a kami of battle.

Vacation 2011 Day11 on the way down

I had been trekking in the Jebel Sahro before, and for the last three days we had passed through familiar territory, but from now on it was all new to me. The route mostly followed a high-desert valley downwards.

We passed a small group of camels belonging to a nomad family who had moved back into the high country after having wintered in the warmer lower elevations with their flock.

Gradually more and more ribbons of green appeared, and in this arid country wherever there is green people will have homesites....

Lower still and the signs of humans increase. Eventually we stop at a small store and enjoy warm sodas. Then the tower of a mosque appears, the first since entering the Jebel, a sure sign that we are nearing a road.

The sunset was sublime. Most of the group sat inside the tent chattering, seemingly unaware or indifferent to its beauty.....

Nio of Kunisaki part2

Nio, the guardian statues flanking the entrance to many temples are also known as Kongorikishi, though the gates they are often found inside are called Niomon. Most Nio are made of wood, but on the Kunisaki peninsular in north Kyushu they are made of stone. This first one is one of a pair at the start of the steps leading up to Futagoji roughly in the center of the conical peninsular.

Another pair can be found within Futagoji's grounds at the bottom of the steps leading up to inner halls higher up the mountain. One of the pair always has an open mouth, Misshaku Kongo, and Naraen Kongo with his mouth closed.

Originally from India, many historians believe there is a connection between them and Greek statues of  Heracles (Hercules) that may have been transmitted along the Silk Road 2,000 years ago. This Nio is at Fukiji, believed to be the oldest wooden building in Kyushu.

This modern one stands in front of a shrine, not a temple. Kunisaki was home to a unique type of Shugendo that mixed Tendai Buddhism with the "shinto" of nearby Usa Hachiman. Known as Rokugomanzan, stone was  the dominant material for statues and the area is home to the biggest cliff-carvings in Japan.

This final one (for now) is at Sempukuji. Kunisaki is one of my favorite areas. many more posts on the area can be found here. Nio are also a favorite topic of mine, and lots more can be seen here

Manhole Birds

Toyono Town in Kumamoto Prefecture uses an image of the ugusui, Japanese Bush-warbler.

Up in Matsue, Shimane soem of the smaller draincovers around the castle moat feature the swan, hakucho in Japanese.

Saijo City in Ehime on Shikoku features a pair of kingfishers, kawasemi in Japanese.

Susaki in Kochi Prefecture on Shikoku also featurtes a kingfisher.

Noichi, also in Kochi, no longer officially exists as it has been merged into a new municipality of Kamita. Among the daffodils flies a Hibari, skylark

Silver Hut

Silver Hut is a copy of architect Toyo Ito's home that he built for himself in 1984 in Tokyo. It won the Architecture Institute of Japan Award in 1986. This copy was built in 2011 and is located on the island of Omoshima between Hiroshima and Shikoku.

According to Ito he got the idea for the building after watching a TV program showing astronauts sharing a meal together on the space station.

Photos ive seen of the original show it surrounded by trees and foliage and looks better as a living space than this new version which sits alone.

Silver Hut and the adjacent Steel Hut form the Toyo Ito Museum of Architecture. I will post on the Steel Hut later.

The building houses an archive of ito's drawings and plans and is used for workshops and other events.

Shikoku 88 Pilgrimage Temple 6 Anrakuji

Anrakuji, which can be translated as "Temple of Present Joy and Peaceful Death" is located in Kamiita Town and is now the sixth temple on the 88 temple pilgrimage.

Originally with a different name and located about 1k north of its present location, legend says it was founded by Kobo Daishi in 811.

The main hall is a modern concrete construction as it replaces an older one that burnt down in 1955. There are 33 deity statues in the grounds and a shrine to Benzaiten.

It belongs to the Shingon sect and the main deity is Yakushi Nyorai, supposedly carved by Kukai himself.

Historical documents say it was built in 1598 by order of the Lord of the province, Hachisuka Iemasa, as an ekiroji, roadside temple, to provide lodgings for travelers and pilgrims. He ordered 8 ekiroji to be built and while he may well have had some altruistic motives it seems they may have been used to spy upon travelers. Prior to this date, the temple was not part of the 88 temple pilgrimage.